Ministerial conflict of interest declarations: FOI release

Information requested

You asked "As a follow up request, can you advise if the existence of such relationships, of which I have evidence, should mean that an MSP and/or serving minister should declare a conflict of interest prior to agreeing to engaging on a constituent’s behalf, and then failing to make representations they offered to make?"

Response

The requirements relating to the declaration of Scottish Ministers' private interests is set out in Chapter 3 of the Scottish Ministerial Code. A copy of the latest edition of the Code (published in December 2024) is available on the Scottish Government website at Scottish Ministerial Code: 2024 Edition - gov.scot.

The 2023 edition of the Ministerial Code (published in July 2023) introduced the proactive publication of Ministers' private interests and you can find the declared interests of all Ministers on the Scottish Government website at List of ministers' interests - gov.scot, alongside a guide to the categories in which Ministers are asked to declare their interests.

Ministers are only required to declare interests that are relevant to their portfolio responsibilities and could, therefore, give rise to an actual or perceived conflict between their public duties and their private interests. As noted in paragraph 3.2 of the Ministerial Code, it is the personal responsibility of each Minister to decide whether and what action is needed to avoid a conflict or a perception of one.

In relation to MSP interests, it is worth noting that there is a separate Register of Interests for MSPs (available on the Scottish Parliament's website at Register of Interests | Scottish Parliament Website).

This Register is managed by the Scottish Parliament and the Scottish Government has no role in it.

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at https://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.